Best natural flea prevention?

This forum is for dog lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitute for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your dog.

It's that time of year again and I wound up using Advantage on the dogs. I really dislike doing that, but the darn fleas got ahead of me After doing some internet research and a little bit of critical thinking, it seems like natural methods work best for prevention, not cures. Ah , but which ones? So much info, so little research. I am a big believer in DE for their living area, and those beneficial bugs that eat fleas ( I can't even come close to spelling that lol) are recommended often for outside. Then comes the essential oils and the food additive recommendations. How confusing. I am a strong believer in good nutrition for dogs and people. I think that brewers yeast or B vitamins are probably the most logical nutritional method. OTH, my son swears by peppermint oil to keep flies away . I tried it and it works for me. Only works on black flies, not mosquitoes, unfortunately I haven't got a clue if it would work on fleas Some people say lavender works on fleas, ticks and mosquitoes but apparently some studies were done, and it doesn't work. If I did any of the essential oils, I would most likely put it on their collars, not directly on them . Can anyone point me to anything natural that has real research studies to back it up?

Well I don't have a suggestion that is backed by scientific studies, just my own personal experience. I live in the south and fleas and ticks are a HUGE problem. I not only have to treat my dog, but also my lawn. I have a Lab that eats everything, grass, mulch, tree's, we have to watch him closely, so I can't use anything that would be harmful to him. I use DE, but I also use a product by Wondercide, called Evolv...that's for Pets. They also make products for humans and lawns, etc. It contains cedar-wood oil, and smells wonderful. The cedar-wood they use is the Texas Red Cedar, which contains no phenol's. Phenol's have been shown to be harmful to humans and pets. The product first acts as a repellant, but does kill when it comes into contact with insects, like fleas.

Maybe you can find some research on cedar-wood oil that doesn't contain phenol's, and see what you find as far as reliability. Good luck! Let us know what your research turns up.

Yes, Dylan I went back and reread the study and realized there is a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo but I did find a few ordinary words

For some reason I can't post the whole paragraph At any rate, after a certain concentration of mint oil fumigation all the cockroaches were dead within 24 hours. The same result was shown with cockroaches put in a jar with peppermint oil infused cotton balls.